[ad_1]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing his biggest political challenge in years from the protest which started with disgruntled farmers traveling to New Delhi by tractors and is now gaining wider support at home and abroad.
The movement has seen dramatic growth in recent weeks, with support from environmental activists, opposition parties and even Western celebrities on the list. At its heart are three new farm laws passed by the government last September, thanks to Modi’s right-wing majority party, Bharatiya Janata.
“Agricultural frustration does not explain the scale of what we are seeing,” said Neelanjan Sircar, a professor of political science at Ashoka University. “This has to do with a greater frustration with how the government handles business.”
Since taking office in 2014, the Modit government has faced growing criticism of blocking consultations on key decisions and using its majority to run legislation through parliament. Led by farmers from the northern Indian state of Punjab, the movement has spread to the northern and western farms of the country and is now approaching its 100th day.
Sugar farmers from the politically important state of Uttar Pradesh, who suffer long delays in harvest payments, are joining forces with rice and wheat producers from other states to oppose the new farm laws. “Our protest will get bigger in the coming weeks and months as more and more farmers are joining our movement from other parts of the country,” said Joginder Singh Ugrahan, a farm leader from Punjab. The substantial Muslim population of Western Uttar Pradesh, whose opposition to the Modi government’s citizenship law in 2019 was appeased by fierce police, has allied with Hindu farm leaders to join the ongoing protests.
Indian civil society, which has seen its close ambition consistently throughout Modi’s term, has also thrown its weight behind the farmers ’movement alongside academics and students.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
